Otero County to get just over $1.8 million for water projects

Gov. Susana Martinez announced Friday that over $1.8 million for watershed restoration projects in Otero County will be coming to the county for the Two Goats Watershed Restoration and the Mescalero Apache Tribe Watershed Restoration projects.

The funding is part of a $6.2 million watershed restoration projects throughout New Mexico that will help restore and rehabilitate vulnerable watersheds throughout the state to improve water quality and quantity.

"Unprecedented drought, wildfires and flooding have decimated New Mexico's watersheds," Martinez said. "Water is our most precious natural resource, and we must take an active role in preserving it. By taking action now, we will not only help restore these vital areas for future generations, but we will also help improve the quality and availability of water and support economic growth."

Martinez signed this $6.2 million into law as part of the 2014 capital infrastructure legislation — which included an unprecedented $89 million worth of investment in water infrastructure throughout the state. The funding will treat about 7,700 acres of high-priority watershed areas on public lands, as identified in the New Mexico Forest Action Plan.

The Two Goats Watershed Restoration Project in Otero County will get $1,236,950. The Mescalero Apache Tribe Watershed Restoration Project in Otero County will get $600,000 for their water project.

Martinez said she is very excited about getting the funding for the watershed projects in Otero County and throughout the state.

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"We do find that the watersheds are a very important part in making sure after we do have fires then the rainfall fills all the watersheds with burnt debris from the fires, it can really impact the quality and quantity of water for the community," she said. "What we're doing is helping to protect the watersheds by trying to protect the rivers and streams from damage, during the wildfire season, and flooding, during the late summer and fall rain season. In turn this work will help improve the water quality and quantity. We're also thinning out the forest. With thinning the forest out, it will help firefighters put out the fire sooner and quicker because there's not so much fuel. If the its thinned out, the firefighters can get to it and put it out easier than to have these big catastrophic fires that we can't have."

New Mexico State Forester Tony Delfin said the Mescalero Apache Tribe Watershed Restoration Project is north of High Rolls and Cloudcroft on the Mescalero Reservation.

"It's in an area where the community of Mescalero receives their water from," Delfin said. "There are three large scale watersheds in that area. They are the La Luz Canyon, Tularosa Creek and Sheep Cap Draw. That project area will serve to extend several projects that have gone on the Mescalero. It will provide a healthier watershed in that area. Those will have thinning projects as well."

He said the Two Goats Watershed Restoration Project is just south of High Rolls.

"It will be in the area of Fresno Canyon and Alamo Canyon area," Delfin said. "The partner in this project is the U.S. Forest Service. They've completed all the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA documents. It's been prioritized in their plan of work. The State Forestry has developed a forestry action plan for the state that identifies priority areas for watershed projects, as well as community protections areas. This is not a post fire rehabilitation area for both projects. They're near areas affected by fire, but these are not a post fire rehabilitation areas. This is to protect a watershed when a fire comes through it. It will be able to withstand a fire as well as the disease issue. It's to make the forest in the area a more resilient healthy watershed."

He said the money is already available for the projects some time this month.

"We will start making legal agreements with the co-operators we're working with," Delfin said. "Once that's taken care of, we'll be able to issue notices to proceed, but right now we don't have a firm start date. We hope to start some of them in the fall."

Martinez said she, the legislature and the State Forestry are going to be more proactive rather than reactive.

"It's a priority because of the drought," she said. "When lightening strikes and starts a fire and we have so much fuel in the forest, it rages through the land. It puts our families in danger, our firefighters in danger, our livestock in danger and our homes and even our wildlife that we're trying to preserve. Being proactive helps us maintain good quality water and good quality of water by looking ahead and seeing which project needs forests thinned, watersheds cleaned so they're not half filled with soot and debris of fires from the past or should we have one, we're not working backwards."

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